Last week a woman shopping in the bookstore asked when we would be featuring poetry again. I told her that her timing was perfect because April is National Poetry Month and we planned to pull together our best selections of poetry to celebrate. The purpose of National Poetry month is to increase the awareness and appreciation of poetry and poets. We have a very nice selection of poetry for both adults and children. Come celebrate poetry!

Come check out our knitting DVDs (everything you could possibly want to know about knitting) priced at $5.00 each. We have a cart of decorating books priced at a dollar each. We also put out a cart of reference, most priced at a dollar each. There are lots of new things to see this week.

This week we will have a sale cart of hard cover and paperback (trade) fiction at the astounding price of 4 for $1.00! We will be refilling this cart and the sale will continue, this week only, while supplies last.

Being hopeful and optimistic, we have gathered together a large cart full of GARDENING BOOKS. We did this because we KNOW spring is just around the corner. Even if you don't garden you may want to take one of these books home with you. You can page through it and dream of warmer days. We also have a nice selection of knitting books this week. I'll warn you, knitting books tend to fly out the door so get here soon if you're interested.

Come in and see our collection of 2014 “Hot Picks” these are books that were popular and frequently requested last year. This collection includes the newest books by Jane Smiley, Chuck Palahniuk, and Lee Child.

I hope you were able to get to the Bag-of-Books Sale on Saturday. It was a busy and exciting sale and lots and lots of happy folks walked out with many bags of books. We tried something a bit different this time and I’m interested in how our customers liked it. Those of you that attend our sales know that we fill long tables with fiction books (including fiction, mystery, sci-fi and romance) spine up and bracketed with bookends. Normally we put the children’s books and nonfiction on carts. We’ve been aware that shopping from the carts can be difficult because some of the books are so low, down on the bottom shelves, and the books keep falling over on their sides. This sale we set up a couple of rows of tables and placed assorted nonfiction books, spine up, in boxes on the tables. We hoped that would be an easy way to see what’s available and eliminate some of the hassle of shopping from the carts. We probably won’t ever be able to eliminate all the carts, but I wondered if using the boxes is worth the effort. Did it make things easier for those shopping? If you were at the sale and want to share an opinion, please do. Comment here or email me at friends@kpl.gov.

Mark your calendars for our next Bag-of-Books Sale coming on Saturday, January 31. As usual, books are 10 cents each or you can fill up a grocery-size bag and pay only $2.00. Please feel free to bring your own sturdy bags. We will have grocery bags for those who need them. The selection will include:

Fiction, mystery, romance, and science fiction

Assorted nonfiction

Children's books

Assorted audio visual materials

The sale is at Central library and begins at 9:00 closing at 3:30. Please call 553-7820 with any questions.

I admit I am at times astonished by our donations; not just the number of books, but the continual, steady influx of books! I sometimes think the postal carriers creed “Neither rain nor snow, nor sleet nor dark of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” has been adopted by the folks that set out to bring us their books. The recent freezing temps and the mountains of snow have not diminished our donations! We have added many, many books to our shelves this week. We still have a nice selection of quilting books. Come into our warm and friendly bookstore and enjoy a little time selecting your next read.